The simple past tense (preterit): How and When to Use in English
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The simple past tense (preterit)
The simple past tense, sometimes called the preterit, describes completed actions in the past.
It is formed by adding -ed to the end of the verb, if the verb is regular:
It is formed by adding -ed to the end of the verb, if the verb is regular:
I washed the floor yesterday.
He talked to Horatio two hours ago.
If the verb is irregular, you need to learn the forms of the simple past and the past participle!
Some frequently used irregular verbs:
Some frequently used irregular verbs:
Yesterday I found money on the floor. (to find)
Susie went to England last week. (to go)
We got up at 6 this morning. (to get)
Bruno came earlier. (to come)
Where did you buy this book? - I bought it on the internet. (to buy)
Exercise 1
Put the irregular verbs below into their proper past tense forms.
Yesterday, Philip and Kevin to a pub and all night. That night, neither of them very well, because they both very ill.
Yesterday, Philip and Kevin to a pub and all night. That night, neither of them very well, because they both very ill.
Put the irregular verbs below into their proper past tense forms.
Yesterday, Philip and Kevin [not done] went 1 to a pub and [not done] drank 2 all night. That night, neither of them [not done] slept 3 very well, because they both [not done] felt 4 very ill.
Yesterday, Philip and Kevin [not done] went 1 to a pub and [not done] drank 2 all night. That night, neither of them [not done] slept 3 very well, because they both [not done] felt 4 very ill.
1 went: The verb 'to go' is irregular. We must put the verb in the past tense, as indicated by the term 'yesterday'. To go: go/went/gone.
2 drank: The verb 'to drink' is irregular. We must put the verb in the past tense, as indicated by the term 'yesterday'. To drink: drink/drank/drunk.
3 slept: The verb 'to sleep' is irregular. We must put the verb in the past tense as indicated by the phrase 'that night' which refers to a past tense time period. To sleep: sleep/slept/slept.
4 felt: We need the preterit form of the verb 'to feel' here. Be careful, because the verb 'to feel' is irregular: feel/felt/felt.
Exercise 2
Last night, Luna DeLune that she to the moon in a turquoise spaceship.
Last night, Luna DeLune [not done] dreamt 1 that she [not done] was flying 2 to the moon in a turquoise spaceship.
1 dreamt: The verb 'to dream' can be conjugated two different ways in the past tense: 'dreamed' or 'dreamt'. Either form is acceptable in this construction. We put this verb in the past tense because of the phrase 'last night' at the beginning of the sentence.
2 was flying: The past continuous form of the verb (was flying) is acceptable here to indicate that the action of Luna's dream (flying) was continuous. Note: The past simple tense of the verb (flew) is also acceptable here. We put this verb into a past tense form because of the phrase 'last night' at the beginning of the sentence.
Exercise 3
Last week, Polly Watson an email to the staff to let them know that employees are no longer to run in the hallways. This decision was made to prevent people from themselves.
Last week, Polly Watson [not done] sent 1 an email to the staff to let them know that employees are no longer [not done] allowed 2 to run in the hallways. This decision was made to prevent people from [not done] hurting 3 themselves.
1 sent: The verb 'to send' is irregular. All the actions in this exercise take place in the past (last week). We must put the verb in the past tense. To send: send/sent/sent
2 allowed: 'Allowed' is the best choice here. In this sentence, the verb 'allowed' is actually used as an adjective. The past participle of the verb is used here following the conjugated verb 'are'. Other forms of the verb besides 'allowed' don't work in this construction.
3 hurting: We must use the '-ing' form of the verb in this case. 'Hurting' is used as a gerund in this construction: It is a verb form which acts as noun. The expression 'to prevent (sbdy) from (verb in ING)' is a common one, which always employs a verb in the ING form.
Exercise 4
Conjugate the verbs below correctly.
Every Friday, Luna DeLune a staff meeting with the rest of the managers of the company and is always on time. The meetings used to on Wednesdays, but when Luna her yoga classes last summer, she asked that the staff meetings rescheduled.
Every Friday, Luna DeLune a staff meeting with the rest of the managers of the company and is always on time. The meetings used to on Wednesdays, but when Luna her yoga classes last summer, she asked that the staff meetings rescheduled.
Conjugate the verbs below correctly.
Every Friday, Luna DeLune [not done] attends 1 a staff meeting with the rest of the managers of the company and is always on time. The meetings used to [not done] take place 2 on Wednesdays, but when Luna [not done] began 3 her yoga classes last summer, she asked that the staff meetings [not done] be 4 rescheduled.
Every Friday, Luna DeLune [not done] attends 1 a staff meeting with the rest of the managers of the company and is always on time. The meetings used to [not done] take place 2 on Wednesdays, but when Luna [not done] began 3 her yoga classes last summer, she asked that the staff meetings [not done] be 4 rescheduled.
1 attends: 'To attend' should be put in the simple present tense form. We use this tense to express the idea of a regular or repeated action: Luna attends a staff meeting every Friday.
2 take place: When followed by a verb in its infinitive form (without 'to'), 'used to' indicates a regular or habitual action in the past. Here, the expression is used to indicate that staff meetings were held or took place on Wednesdays in the past, (now they are held on Fridays).
3 began: The simple past tense is used to describe a single completed action which took place in the past. Here the phrase 'last summer' signals the need for the simple past tense. The verb 'to begin' is irregular: begin/began/begun.
4 be: 'She asked that...' is a construction which must be followed by a verb in the subjunctive present tense, (identical to the infinitive form of the verb without 'to'). We use the subjunctive present to indicate that one action is uncertain or contingent upon another, or that an action is unreal or hypothetical. Some examples of verbs which are frequently used to form the subjunctive present tense: to insist, to ask, to suggest, to require, to be necessary.
Exercise 5
Last month, Bruno and Stink late for their appointment with the veterinarian. When they finally , the doctor was furious with them. She to Bruno: ' so irresponsible! time for you to grow up.' Then she gave out two injections of morphine: one for Stink and one for herself, and said goodbye.
Last month, Bruno and Stink were 1 late for their appointment with the veterinarian. When they finally arrived 2, the doctor was furious with them. She said 3 to Bruno: 'You're 4 so irresponsible! It's 5 time for you to grow up.' Then she gave out two injections of morphine: one for Stink and one for herself, and said goodbye.
1 were: It is the third person plural, preterit form of the verb 'to be'. 'They were late' indicates that Bruno and Stink arrived late to their appointment in the past (last month). Example: We were ready for the party at 10pm.
1 was: 'Was' refers to a singular subject, but the subject here (Bruno and Stink) is plural.
1 can: 'Can' is an auxiliary, or a verb which expresses capacity. We cannot say that someone 'can late for an appointment'.
1 had: 'To have' is a verb which expresses possession or necessity. We cannot say that someone 'has late for an appointment'.
2 arrived: The verb 'to arrive' must be put into the simple past tense form here. Because this action takes place in the past (last month), we use the preterit form of the verb. Example: Last Christmas, I received 300 presents.
2 arrive: Because this action takes place in the past tense (last month) we cannot use the present tense form of the verb 'to arrive'.
2 arriving: Because this action takes place in the past tense (last month) we cannot use the present progressive form of the verb 'to arrive'. Progressive tenses are generally used to describe actions in progress.
2 will arrive: The future tense is inappropriate here because this action takes place in the past, as indicated by the phrase 'last month'.
3 said: We must put the verb 'to say' (an irregular verb) in the past simple tense (preterit) here because this action takes place in the past (last month). The simple past tense is used to describe single, completed actions in the past. To say: say/said/have said.
3 say: We cannot use the present simple tense here because the action takes place in the past.
3 says: We cannot use the present simple tense here because the action takes place in the past.
3 has said: The present perfect tense is generally used to describe an action which began in the past and continues into the present moment. It can't be used describe a completed action in the past.
4 You're: This is the correct way to contract the subject-verb combination 'You are', which this sentence requires. Example: You're the best dog in the whole world.
4 Your: 'Your', without an apostrophe, is actually a possessive pronoun, and not a contraction.
4 You were: We cannot use the past simple tense here. Although this action takes place in the past, this particular construction requires the present tense conjugation of the verb 'to be'. The veterinarian is not saying that Bruno was irresponsible at a particular time in the past, but rather that Bruno is irresponsible in general.
5 It's: This is the correct contraction of the subject-verb combination 'It is'. The verb 'to be' is conjugated here in the present simple tense because the doctor is making an imperative statement about Bruno in the present tense. "It's time for you to grow up" means "You should become more mature now".
5 It was: We cannot conjugate the verb 'to be' in the past tense here because the construction requires a present tense form of the verb.
5 Its: 'Its', without an apostrophe, is a possessive pronoun, and not a contraction.
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